Modular local heating and temperature control systems designed for seamless integration into production environments and workflows.
Retrofittable, inherently safe and platform independent.
We use high-intensity LED-based emitters—offering the perfect balance of power, responsiveness, and safety. Unlike lasers or infrared sources, LEDs provide instantaneous power modulation to adapt to the highly dynamic conditions of extrusion-based additive manufacturing.
The emitted light falls entirely within the visible spectrum, making the system inherently safe. Safety requirements are similar to those of wire arc welding—familiar territory for most production environments—eliminating the need for costly laser safety infrastructure.
The total system cost is often lower than that of a typical laser safety cell, making integration not only easier but also significantly more economical.
Beyond safety and affordability, the responsive heating capabilities ensure consistent material properties regardless of tool path length or ambient temperature fluctuations. This enables recovery of interrupted prints and unlocks entirely new application possibilities—expanding what’s achievable with LFAM.
Our end effectors are designed with full ring sensor and emitter arrays, providing 360° thermal coverage around the nozzle—without the need for any moving parts. This enables precise temperature measurement and correction through active heating in every direction.
Our sensors simultaneously monitor the temperature of both the incoming material and the part itself. This dual perspective allows for more accurate thermal control and enables multiple correction mechanisms to work in parallel—localized heating, part cooling, and real-time machine feed rate adjustments—all without disrupting your existing workflow.
By relying solely on data already available in the machine controller, the system adjusts dynamically to the toolpath, eliminating the need for manual intervention or changes to your process planning.
Whether you’re setting up new LFAM machines or upgrading existing equipment, our modular solutions use open communication standards, allowing fast adaptation to different configurations and broad compatibility with machine controllers, with a easy to use, stand alone HMI.
If you’re working with an OEM, check whether our system is already integrated. Deeper OEM integration allows an even more streamlined setup—potentially embedding directly into the machine’s cabinet and HMI, reducing both footprint and cost.
Our system reads all critical data directly from the controller, making it compatible with even simple CAM workflows. At the same time, it can benefit from advanced inputs like thermal simulations. We never overwrite the machine program, ensuring complete flexibility with zero compromise.
Our system can continuously log temperature measurements alongside precise positional data, creating a rich, spatially aligned dataset for every print. This data can be analyzed in real time at the machine edge to enable immediate process feedback—or exported as 3D point clouds for post-process analysis.
By connecting physical-world effects directly to their root causes in the toolpath, users gain full traceability across every line, layer, and part. This makes data-driven quality assurance not only possible but practical—ensuring thorough documentation and accountability for every build.
Whether you’re verifying process stability, optimizing parameters, or meeting certification requirements, our sensor fusion lays the foundation for a true digital twin of your manufacturing process.
Upgrading their equipment with the DEMEX module allowed NLR to control and adjust the interface temperature by means of active heating, cooling or adaptive printing speed. This also enables them to explore new applications, like overprinting.
See NLR printing aerospace moulds in high-performance polymers achieving five times longer layer length compared to previous experiments, with very high quality and printing stability.
